In The Shadow of Fire
by Hammerschlag
Summary: Despite his depression, despite all the losses he suffered, one motive kept Jaune going: revenge. Semi-AU.


**Hello RWBY fans! I'm Hammershlag, a small-time writer from the Fire Emblem fandom! I'm here on a mission to broaden my horizons; I hope you like this piece. If you do, feel free to check out some of my Fire Emblem works.**

* * *

A year had passed since Pyrrha was killed by Cinder. Weiss had vanished, Yang and Blake had been killed by the leader of the White Fang, Qrow, Nora and Ren were all too recently slaughtered by servants of the mysterious figure known as Salem, and now, Jaune had found Ruby's mangled corpse hanging from a tree.

He was alone. Alone in a world covered by darkness. His only friends were the voices in his head.

 _Why… why is it that all the strong die out and leave weaklings like me to fend for ourselves?_ Jaune sniveled. He took out his sword, cut down the fallen huntress' body, wrapped it in a cloak and buried it beneath the tree.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have given you a more proper burial, but I promise I will find who did this and kill him slowly. I will become strong, and I will finish what we started."

His depression began to drown in his rage; his hopelessness became buried deep beneath his unyielding desire to do right by those he lost. Fire burned in his heart and he felt a passion deeper than any he had ever experienced.

 _I will kill them all,_ Jaune repeated in his mind like a mantra. Tears continued to fall down his face, but he paid them no mind as he covered Ruby's body with dirt.

 _ **Do you really think you can avenge them if you couldn't even stop me?**_ the voice of Cinder reverberated around his mind.

 _Shut up. I've heard enough of your taunts!_ Jaune shot back. Cinder could only laugh at this,

 _ **You will never be strong. You are a fraud, a weakling who only got where he is because his peers pitied and protected him. I am infinitely more powerful than you could ever hope to be.**_

 _Enough!_

 _ **Did you really think they cared about you? That they needed you? No, they merely took you along for the ride so you could feel good about yourself. And Pyrrha, well, she pitied you so deeply she feigned love for you! How foolish and pathetic you are, little boy!**_

"ENOUGH!" Jaune shouted and began slicing through everything around him; Cinder's unending laughter only fueling his rage. Everything from the trees to the Grimm found themselves torn to shreds.

But even the angriest of them all could only last for so long before exhaustion took hold, and Jaune began to feel it. Fortunately, he had defeated all the Grimm in the area and was able to get to a local inn before his body gave out completely.

* * *

The next morning, Jaune woke up alone for the first time in ages. The loneliness was not a feeling he was used to, but it served it's purpose.

 _Why am I here?_ asked a voice in Jaune's head.

 _ **You're on a useless quest for revenge, of course,**_ said the voice of Cinder.

 _ **No, you came to help me,**_ said the voice of Ruby.

 _ **And to do right by me,**_ said the voice of Pyrrha.

"But you are all dead… what do I have left?" Jaune responded to the voices, tears yet again forming in his eyes.

 _Yourself._

 _ **Nothing.**_

 _ **Us.**_

 _ **Your own strength… you just don't know it yet.**_

"'Don't know it yet'? Pyrrha, you've been saying that for–"

"Mr. Arc, sir? Who are you talking to?" the innkeeper said from the other side of the door.

"I'm on a scroll call. Reception is rather poor here, so I have to shout. I apologize if I'm being disruptive."

"Oh. No problem at all," the innkeeper responded obliviously and walked off.

 _ **You're a convincing liar… no wonder you made it into Beacon,**_ Cinder scoffed.

"You're right Cinder… about that, and about something else, too. I'm here because I want revenge. I will kill Salem and all her goons. I'm going to make them pay for what they've done. I'll make them all pay." Then, the voices in his head amplified.

 _To do that, you need power._

 _ **Yes, power – the one thing you lack.**_

 _ **But you**_ **can** _ **achieve it if you try.**_

 _ **Never stop learning… never stop improving.**_

 _ **Never stop searching for power.**_

 _ **Power…**_

 _Power…_

"Power…"

* * *

 **As any Fire Emblem fan knows, shit hits the fan as soon as someone begins searching for power, no matter how noble their cause may be.**

 **Well, this might be the darkest thing I've ever written, and the second darkest I've ever thought of.**

 **This could become a multi-chapter fic if you guys want. Let me know in the comments!**

 **Trivia: Originally, this was going to be a Lucina fic based in the timeline averted by the events of Fire Emblem: Awakening. I had shelved the concept a long time ago, but felt it appropriate to revisit.**

 **To my readers still waiting on the next chapters of ULD, PHK and AS, I'm currently rewriting them, as I lost the flash drive I saved them on.**


End file.
